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20150526-DSC_7324
20150526-DSC_7324

The Chang La Pass is a high mountain pass located in Ladakh, India. At an elevation of 5,360 m17,590 ft) above the sea level, it’s said to be the third highest motorable road in the world. The pass, guarded and maintained by the Indian Army (due its proximity to Chinese border), it’s covered with snow throughout the year.
This road is usually open all year, but it can be closed anytime when the access is not cleared of snow. The Changla Pass is the main gateway for the Changthang Plateau situated in the Himalayas. The pass is located on the 134 km-long (83 mi) road between the Pangong Lake and Leh.
The weather was fine when we passed the checkpoint where our passports were examined. The road up was quite spectacular. With views down the dry valleys each having thin green strip of cultivation along the rivers. The hand painted road sign brought much hilarity. They did not mince their words of warning The roads had only just reopened after the winter and there were some repairs and clearing of landslides going on. However as we got near the top it started to blow a gale. The road got covered in drifting snow and everything ground to a halt. Many of the cars on the road where driven by India holidaymakers who had never experienced snow and hadn’t go a clue how to deal with it. Some had snow chains, some didn’t. Anyway, chaos ensued. No sign of the police and army or anybody taking control of the situation. The only help came from a phalanx of local ladies with shovels. In the end we were stuck for 5 hours. You are only supposed to be at that height for 20 minutes! One of the party had to have oxygen. No comfort stations in sight so one just had to find a sheltered spot. Or not so sheltered for the men. In the end we had to turn round and descend back to Leh as there was no sign of being able to continue to our destination of Pangong Lake

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Taken on: May 26, 2015
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Sets appears in:   • Chang La pass, Ladakh   
Camera: Nikon D600, f/8.0, 1/400 sec, 28mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Nikon D600
Lens: 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure Time: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length: 28mm
ISO: 200
Exposure Bias: +1 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program: Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Sharpness: Hard
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.0 (Windows)
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